LEGAL

Complaints Handling Policy

Complaints Handling Procedure (PDF)

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. If you are dissatisfied with the level of service you have received, we need you to inform us so that we can address any issues. This will help us improve our standards and ensure that you are receiving proper service from us.

If you would like to make a formal complaint, then please read this complaints procedure. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case and you will not be charged for time spent handling your complaint.

If you have a complaint, please raise the problem with the lawyer responsible for your matter, or, if you prefer, our Complaints Partner, Jill Guldin, at Pierson Ferdinand UK LLP, 1 King William Street, London, EC4N 7BJ, or send an email directly to Ms. Guldin at generalcounsel@pierferd.com.

What will happen next?

  1. We will send you a letter and/or an email acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three (3) days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure. If necessary, we will ask you to provide us with further details or information. We also will let you know who will be handling your complaint.

  2. We then will investigate your complaint. This will normally involve our Complaints Partner reviewing your complaint and speaking to members of our staff who acted for you.

  3. Following our investigation, and within fourteen (14) days of sending you the acknowledgement letter, our Complaints Partner will invite you to a meeting to discuss and resolve your complaint. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible, then our Complaints Partner may instead offer you the opportunity to discuss the matter by telephone.

  4. Within fourteen (14) days of the meeting, or, if no meeting takes place, within twenty-eight (28) days of receipt of your original written complaint, we will send you a detailed response. Where we have asked you for further information, you will receive our response within fourteen (14) days after we receive that information from you. Our response will state the outcome of our investigation. If, however, we require more time to investigate your complaint, then we will notify you and confirm the next time we contact you.

  5. At this stage, if you still are not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner at the firm who is unrelated with the matter to review the decision.

  6. We will write to you within fourteen (14) days of receiving your request for review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.

  7. If we have to change any of the timescales outlined above, then we will let you know and explain why.

  8. If you are still not satisfied and you are a member of the public, a very small business, a charity, a club, or a trust, then you can contact the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH, about your complaint. The Ombudsman would generally expect clients to follow a firm’s internal complaints procedure first.  You can find further information about the Ombudsman on its website legalombudsman.org.uk.

    If you wish to raise a complaint with the Ombudsman then you should not delay bringing it to their attention once our complaints process has concluded as there are some time limits on when this must be done. The Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one (1) year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one (1) year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six (6) months of our final response to you. For further information, you should contact Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.  Note that the Legal Ombudsman service cannot be used by businesses or most other organisations unless they are below certain size limits. Further details are available from the Legal Ombudsman.

Pierson Ferdinand UK LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England, with registered number OC449880 and is a law firm authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registered number 8006801.

This material is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Attorney Advertising.